Urban Studies Recently in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Highway

Urban Studies

Recently in Bridgeport, Connecticut, highway I95 looked like an inferno from Hades. A tractor-trailer carrying 9,000 gallons of fuel oil erupted in a spectacular fireball after striking a car. State police said the automobile apparently forced the tanker truck carrying 12,000 gallons of home heating oil into a concrete barrier on the southbound side. This section of the highway lies in the midst of Fairfield County, an extensive multi-town bedroom of New York City. It handles about 120,000 vehicles per day. Fifteen thousand of these are trucks, about 70% not making local stops. The location can easily be compared to the highway stretch going into Los Angeles. For two days, this direction of the highway was completely closed and commuters either had to take bumper-to-bumper back roads or switch to a commuter train. A number of people did take to the rails. However, as soon as the highway was reopened they were back in their cars.

If a commuter is going to New York City, a commuter train offers a viable alternative. Once in the city, the rider can either walk or take a subway to the final business destination. However, a large percentage of these 120,000 vehicles are driven by individuals who are headed to non-New York City locations. At these non-New York City towns, there is no way of getting to one's final destination except by taxi -- not a feasible choice.

In addition, because Fairfield County is so spread out, it may be up to 20 miles to a train station. Considering that the place of employment may be about 25 to 60 miles away, it does not make sense to take the train. Commuters will resort to this approach only on days with the worst weather or road closings. Their decision sticks, regardless of the fact that there are always accidents or that road rage is coming more common than not. Says one commuter: "The general highway situation is terrible with this accident, I can't imagine it being worse than it was already," she said. "I pray every day before I get on the highway because I can't believe how people drive." Nor does a high cost of travel (as described in Part 3 "Urban Transportation") matter. Fairfield County is ranked as one of the highest socio-economic areas of the country. A high percentage of drivers are willing to make the sacrifice.

In the article Part 3 "Urban Transportation," options are offered to reduce the amount of drivers on the road. Raising gasoline rates is one of the suggestions. Connecticut has always had some of the highest gasoline prices in the United States, especially after the MTBE ban. These higher costs have not/do not dissuade commuters, even in an area with a high number of SUVs and recently added Hummers. Looking outward until 2020, the Connecticut Department of Transportation expects at least a one percent increase in gas usage every year. Other researchers say this may be as high as 2%.

The chapter also discusses a government congestion tax that is higher at on-peak times. A tollbooth, as noted, is not acceptable. This location I95 removed its tollbooths because of emissions and deadly accidents. An electronic chip that records the trip is also covered. The chapter notes that the HOT approach has been successfully used in Orange County, where cars have a responder in their front windshield for identification purposes and corresponding amount billed each time a HOT lane is used. This increased traffic on the old HOV lane, decreased traffic volume and increased speeds along the regular lanes on I91 that offered benefits to other commuters not using the toll. Another successful HOT program has been tried out in an area around San Diego.

This may work for individuals who are going to towns at a distance beyond 30 minutes. However, it may easily add to the congestion on side streets to the highway because people may decide to use back roads instead of main ones. Also, Connecticut has a high socio-economic discrepancy between the "poor" "middle class" and the "wealthy." Despite the state's wealth, as noted above, there are many individuals who already have difficulty with the high standard of living. Many of them live in the Bridgeport urban area and commute to other towns. If they had to take a main road, the tax would be an added burden. Also, this tax does not address the high number of trucks that are using the road. The state will have to conduct a feasibility study to see which approach if any would help.